November 2021 - Luke’s Blog

30Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Four Books I Read in November 2021

November was a slightly slower reading month for me as I picked up some slightly longer books and my life took over a little more than usual (I actually had plans). However, two of the books from this month were up there as some of the best books I've ever read and have gone right into my top five books of all time. Despite not reading quite as many, I feel like this made November one of my favourite reading months! But what were the four books I actually read? [caption id="attachment_1463" width="400" align="aligncenter"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below to support the blog, I will receive a small commission…

30Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Bookstagram Tips from the Pros!

Features, Tips and Tricks

Bookstagram is a huge platform that offers a fantastic place to get to know fellow book nerds. Bookstagram isn't just a hashtag anymore, it's a community on Instagram that offers new book recommendations, insights into new reads and some of the friendliest people you'll meet. [caption id="attachment_1455" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Just started a Bookstagram and looking for some tips on how to improve your engagement or increase your followers? Well, I've gone out and asked some who I'd consider some absolute pros at it, some of whom have been doing it for a year or more and some of whom have only been doing it for a few months. Below are the responses they gave me when I asked them for tips for Bookstagrammers and then how…

29Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction

A Man Called Ove is a heart-warming book about a grumpy old man whose melancholic and monotonous life is turned upside when a new family move in next door. Ove begins to see that there may be some light when he thought his only light was gone. [caption id="attachment_1448" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest[/caption] The reason I picked up A Man Called Ove is similar to that for why I pick up a lot of books - I had seen a lot of good things about it, it looked like not a long commitment and I had the kindle version of it ready to go. I knew it was going to be a lighthearted read but I didn’t realise it was going to get me so damn emotional. Plot…

26Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness 3 Comments

Book Review: We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

I’d not heard of We Begin at the End before I bought it. I bought it because it was £2 on Amazon. But wow - it blew me away and it may well be the best £2 I’ve ever spent on anything ever. Read on to find out why. [caption id="attachment_1441" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] We Begin at the End tells the tale of Walk, Duchess, Vincent, Robin, Star and a whole cast of incredible characters from a backwater town in America. It tells two tales: that of a murder in the town and who the killer might be and that of Duchess and Robin, two children who deserve so much more from life. Plot – 4.5/5 We Begin at the End tells the tale of Walk’s attempt…

23Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Spotlight: Cooking the Books

Blogger Spotlights, Features

In today's Blogger Spotlight, we're highlighting Kayleigh's "Cooking the Books" blog where she highlights indie authors and their books. Kayleigh isn't in the game to get followers or likes for herself, she wants the indie authors she promotes to get more book sales to reward them for their incredible work. [caption id="attachment_1435" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] What made you get into blogging? In the grand scheme of things, I am a very small fish in a massive pond in regards to the book blogging world. I met virtually via a Facebook book club, some really lovely authors whose writing I absolutely fell in love with. The sheer brilliance and the rawness of their talent was the firestarter for my blog. My whole reason and soul purpose is to…

22Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Stats Book Tag

Blog Tags, Features

For something different to do on my blog, I thought I'd have a little look around and see what other book bloggers post about in-between book reviews and mix up their content. I found myself on zeezeewithbooks' blog and more specifically, the "tag week" she took part in. [caption id="attachment_1428" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] I found this tag that's right up my street - the Blogger Stats Book Tag which essentially has you being asked plenty of questions and you've got to answer them. I thought this could be fun as it would be a great way for you to all find out a bit more about me (as my "about me" page needs seriously updating). SO here we go! The tag was apparently created by Stuart at…

18Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

Book reviews, Fantasy

The final book in The Poppy War series is The Burning God. It’s a book that aims to round up a vast ongoing war and give us a satisfying end to a tale that was nominated and has won some high fantasy awards so far. Does it do the series justice? [caption id="attachment_1417" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] The Burning God follows on from The Dragon Republic. The Burning God tells the tale of how Rin aims to overthrow the dragon republic and how she hopes to put one final end to this war and reclaim the land and put an end to the evil that has spread across the land. Plot – 4.5/5 The plot of The Burning God is fantastic. It’s a sweeping journey across over 600…

16Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Spotlight: Grumpy Old Books

Blogger Spotlights, Features

In today's Blogger Spotlight, we have a man of very few words in Grumpy Old Books by Noel Powell. Noel is proud of his unique selling point - the fact he's not young and bookish, he's just a grumpy old man who loves books. Something else unique about Grumpy Old Books is that he includes a summary of the author of the book he's reviewed at the bottom of each of his reviews. [caption id="attachment_1410" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] What made you get into blogging? I got into blogging because I am mean with money. I love books so I signed up to NetGalley to get free advanced copies of books about to be published. All I had to was give an honest review. However to get the…

14Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Book reviews, Fantasy

I think if you’re a fan of YA fantasy, you’ll likely have heard of Laini Taylor and the Daughter of Smoke & Bone book. - I certainly had. So when I saw the incredible deal to get all three books in the series on Amazon for £5, I jumped at the opportunity and picked them up. [caption id="attachment_1404" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Daughter of Smoke & Bone is the first book in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series which focuses on Karou and her exploration of where she came from and how truly important she is to stop a war that’s lasted thousands of years between two mythical factions in another world. Plot – 5/5 Karou fills her days drawing in her sketchbook everything around her,…

13Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Orphan X is the first book in the Orphan X series featuring Evan Smoak, also known as the Nowhere Man. It’s an action thriller featuring a man spoken only in whispers with a very high-level set of skills called upon by those in the most desperate circumstances looking for his help. Cool premise huh? [caption id="attachment_1400" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that the article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase Orphan X via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. In my attempt to try out all the different notable entries in the action/thriller genre, Orphan X was a…

Month: November 2021